Separator for seeds or the like



w. OLSEN S EPARATOR FOR SEEDS OR THE LIKE Filed Sept.* 14-, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l mam Jami 1936. w OLSEN SEPARATOH FOR SEEDS OR THE LIKE Filed Sept. 14, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 LL Patented Jan. 7, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to improvements in'separators and in particular to that type designed to assort or grade dry materials, such as seeds or the like, by the action of an air blast.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an arrangement embodying a plurality of compartments or hoppers into which the materials are selectively tossed according to their specific gravities and the trajectories imparted thereto by an air blast.

A further object in view is to provide means for varying the elfective actionof the air blast, both in respect to the force with which it meets or intersects the stream of particles of the materials to be assorted and the general direction of the stream of air with reference to the position of the'receiving hoppers or the mouths thereof, whereby the particles will drop into different hoppers and will be separated into different grades and cleaned of waste materials and tailings.

A still further object of the invention is to provide deflector means associated with the receiving hoppers designed to adjust the mouths of the hoppers either as to position or operative area thereof, thereby controlling delivery of the materials or the particular grades of the same received by the respective receptacles.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter set forth and the novel features thereof defined by the appended claim.

In the drawings Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional view of an apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view on the plane indicated by the line A--A of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, showing more particularly the power drives and the adjusting levers for the air channel bottom and deflector vanes; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view with a side wall of the housing removed and the fan and channel bottom adjusting means omitted.

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings and specifically describing the invention, I designates the casing or housing, 2 the fan and shaker section thereof and 3 the separating compartment of the same. This housing is provided with the air intake opening 4 at one end through which air is drawn in at the back of the fan and driven in a strong blast toward the top 5 of the housing by the fan 6. This opening 4 is additional to the usual side openings at the ends of the fan and serves the important function of uniform distribution of the air blast, 5 resulting in a uniform effective action in the separation process. The fan shaft is provided with a driving cone-pulley l exteriorly of the casing.

An inclined air channel is formed in front of the fan by means of the adjustable bottom 8 and 10 the stationary top 9, so that the stream of air from the fan is caused to'intersect the stream of seed or'other materials fed through the regulating throat ill from the oppositely inclined shaker screen ll. Shaking or reciprocatory motion is imparted to this screen by the eccentric rod I2 connected thereto, so that as the seed or materials to be separated are fed thereonto from the bin or supply chute I3, they spread out into a relatively thin layer. Dirt or fine particles of grit pass through the screen and the remaining particles or seed are thrown by the current of air in trajectories over a series of receptacles ll, l8,

I9, 20, the mouths or entrances of which are controlled by the respective deflector vanes l4, I5, i6, which are capable of being swung forwardly or rearwardly about their pivotal mountings to shift or control the area of the openings, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings in dotted and full line positions, respectively. As to which receptacle will receive the materials depends upon the specific gravity or size of the particles together with the force and direction of the air draft which is generally directed toward the screened outlet M at the end of the housing.

The location of this opening directly opposite the air blast results in the quick release of the air with resultant increase in effective action of the air on the seed.

Control of the air current and consequently the trajectories is obtained by adjustment of the bottom 8 through the linkage 22 connected thereto and to the shaft 22'. This shaft has on one end the adjusting lever 22" coacting with the locking segment 22a on the face of the housing. It will be obvious, for example, that as the bottom of the channel is raised to swing about one end, the outlet of the channel into the separator compartment is reduced in size, creating a greater force or velocity of the air stream and the said l0 from which they slowly fall in a curtain-like stream. The momentum of the seed is thus checked and as this throat is immediately adjacent the mouth of the air blast channel an immediate elfect is obtained from the blast on the seed which produces a quick separation of the seed into their individual trajectories.

The adjustment of the bottom 8, as well as that of the vanes I4, l5, l6 varies according to the type of seed or materials to be operated upon. The vanes are held in their adjusted positions by the respective adjusting levers 23,24, 25 coacting with the segments 23, 24 and 25' on the side of the housing.

Access to the interior of the housing is obtained through the door 26 at one side while said housing is maintained closed beneath the adjusted end of the bottom 8 by the flexible closure 8'.

Aprons 21 and 28 connected to the channel top 9 and bottom 8 extend over and under the fan so as to form a housing for the fan having a constricted air inlet at the base of the intake 4. The end of the apron 28 engages over the bottom edge of the opening 4 and the swing of the bottom 8 is about this edge.

Any desired actuating means may be employed to operate the screen II and fan 6, such as the belt driven pulley 29 mounted on the eccentric shaker shaft and the cone pulley 30 from which motion is transmitted to the fan pulley I by the belt 3 I.

The operation of this apparatus will be apparent from the foregoing description and while the specific details of construction have been herein shown and described, the invention is not confined thereto as alterations may be made without departing from the spirit thereof as defined by the appended claim.

I claim:

In a separator of the class described, the combination of a housing forming a separating chamber, means for feeding a stream of materials to be separated into said chamber at a point substantially below the top of the same, an angular shaped throat member at the entrance of the feeding means into thechamber, means for producing an air blast through the housing in a path intersecting the stream of materials to toss said materials and effect separation thereof according to the specific gravity of the particles, said means including a. fan and a housing extending about the same and having laterial openings and an opening at the rear thereof, and

an inclined air channel communicating with the separating chamber directly beneath the angular shaped member aforesaid, said air channel having its base wall adjustable to control the angularity of the air blast, and a series of hoppers at the base of the separating chamber to receive the separated materials, said hoppers having means associated with the mouths thereof for controlling the position and operative arrangement of the entrances to said hoppers, the separating chamber having an air outlet substantially opposite the air blast channel.

WILFRED OLSEN. 

